The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-13

VINO have grit enough to leave comfortable |
homes in the East leave fond wives and children |
or sisters and sweethearts leave books and pa
pers. music churches. lectures, and last but not
least. good food, good water and good beds-to
leave about everything that makes life worth
living. and go out West to live on cattle ranch
! say admire any man who has grit enough to
do it, for I'd die first. could stand the rough
ing Il. the bodily discomforts and the hard work,
the-heat in summer, aye, and the cold of winter,
too. for that matter, but the loneliness of those
vast solitudes, the lack of congenial society the
absence of the worlds literature and, above all.
the absence of home-God's most precious gift
to mar-would kill me. would not be exled to
Montana cattle ranch ten months out of every
year for whole herd of golden calves
Montana is cruel country; about the cruelest
L know except Borneo The land is so poor that
you could not raise disturb ance it Not a
grain OF corn, oats or wheat, not a cabbage,
turnip or potato, can you grow anywhere save in
some valley where irrigation is possible. The
country istreeless, desolate and bleak. In sum-
mer the terrific heat scorches you dries up the
pools of water and nearly kills you with thirst.
In winter the billiards. almost sweep you off the
face OF the earth, the snow blinds you, the
snow filled coules lie like many traps to en-
beast and the snow covers up the grass until the
cattle and horses etarve The distances are
tiresomely long the monotony oppressive. and
the roughness of the country is terribly wearing
| on both man and beast. If you get lost thers
are good landmarks, there is moth
ing. to eat, and, in winter, nothing to
make fire with. There is one good
thing to be said for the country, however. AL
though it will never be worth anything for agri-
culture for cattle and horses it is the finest graz
| ing ground in the world The short curly buff
falo grass dries up in the fervid heat of summer
and becomes simply standing hay of the richest
| sort
| speaking of buffalo grass always reminds me
| of old Joes remark to one of the soldiers Be it
| known, first that buffalo grass curls tightly to
| the ground and forms perfect carpet about an
| inch hynH 0ra iOhf in Cnth
| were discussing Indians, and one inhocently re-
| marked that hostiles would hide in the grass and
creep up to our camp if they wanted to attack
us. Old Joe removed his short pipe and re-
| marked dryly:
'Wel lad it'ud be domea small Indian that
could hide in this grass!"
| Which brought down the house with great
| uproar.
Although the trail was in fine condition, it is
| against the law (of the quartermaster's depart
| ment) to trot six mule team, so we made only
| about twenty-five miles day. Whenever we
| could, we camped at q water hole. and when we
couldn't We took water along in casks and
| made a 'dry camp" wherever night overlook u.s.
Between the head of Sunday creek and the Little
Dog we pulled across the big divide which forms
| the crest of the Missouri Yellowstone watershed.
1t like going over the roof Of the world.
| For fifteen miles or more we were the great
| ridge. endless succession of bleak, windSwept
hills and holows rolling away on every side,
mile after mile, until the eyes got tired of look
| ing over them. They looked as If they had been
shaved and sandpapered all over, they were SO
smooth and SO utterly barren. Nothing grew on
| them save buffalo grass bunch grass here and
there and few wild and wary antelope. Not
even q friendly sage bush afforded the weary
eye resting place man could not find a
better place to starve to death in il he hunted
| Montana all over.
The fourth day out we crossed the Little Dry,
| to which he had longingly looked forward for
water. We found in it what by courtesy was
called water but it was too thick to drink and
~, rr,ny ~.x,1 Altx n,r
| cow horses swallowed it without grumbling-
they were used to it, poor hrutes-but it was a
| different case with the government mules Old
Joe unchecked them, dipped pailful of the
stuff, and held it up to the near leader. The
thirsty mule thrust his head eagerly into the
pail, took one swallow only, then cooked his ears
and looked at Old Joe out of the corner of his
eye, saying distinctly. what are you giving
us9' The stuff was offered to each of the six
mules, not one of which took second swallow,
and the off wheeler came near biting piece out
of the teamsters cheek. When Old Joe had
gone the round he threw the water out of the
pail with disguised air, and said: Zone bucket
full O this water is enough to water all the mules
Uncle Sans got!"
Between tie Little Dry and Big Dry we saw
what has become of the millions of buffalo. Hun
dreds of carcasses lay scattered over the prairie
in every direction. They lay thicky along both
sides Of the road. and the bad lands were full OF
them. After passing the Red Buttes, on the
way up, we were hardly ever out of sight of a
bleaching skeleton, and sometimes a score were
in sight at time. Once counted seven
teen lying grouped together in a space of not
over two acres in extent 1t was mournful
, sight. Although these buffalo were killed only
four years ago less, the powerful effect of the
dry winds and intense heat of summer has lit
orally stripped the flesh from the bones, and left
the whole skeletons lying just as they fell.
bleached white as snow on the upper SIDE and
very often with nearly every bone in its place.
The SINNERS had left the heads of the bulls IN
, | skinned and the thick hide had dried down upon
, the skulls as hard as horn. holding the tan
gled masses of the shaggy frontlet firmly in
place until it bleached brown in the sunshine
and finally was worn away by wind and weather,
A little later we picked up eight just such skele
. | tons as the above absolutely complete, and with
no: three pounds of dried meat remaining on any
I one of them. The bleaching power of Montana
0 weather is perfectly marvellous.
AS we travelled back to Miles City, in Decem
Der, we gathered up ffty-one perfect skulls oil
t old bull and cow buffalo to store mp for the
museums of the world that will beg for them
little later, when the buffalo all dead anG
a the bone gatherers have gathered in and crushed
8 the last bone to be found on the buffalo ranges
| And tell you it afforded solid comfort tt
: have it in my power to lay in such goodly store
:, before it was too late. For forty miles north Of
. Miles City the buffalo bones have already beer
8 gathered I'D clean
h On the fifth day we reached the Nv ranci
= (Tow'sl, on the Big Dry, ninety miles from Mile
City, at the mouth of Sand creek. which comes
s in from the southwest This is the most charm
d ingly situated raneh-house l saw anywhere il
n Montana. There is line of cottonwood timbe
Q along the Big Dry and wish you could hav,
l. seen it then. Every leaf was yellow golt
It and alive with excitement How merrily the,
1 danced. and shone, and rustledn the breezy sun
s shine and after the dead gray otony of tn
d shaven praries, how pretty they did look! Hal
l been alone could have Rugged some of thos
/, gnarly old cottonwoods and enjoyed it. Whel
d seen from little distance, as it lay between tn
l. | two hard barren ridges which hemmed it in, tn
s narrow valley of the Big Dry was fairly glorifet
Il by the golden yellow line of tree tops which s.
n beautifully marked its course l wanted t.
+ camp in that timber just for one night. to hea
!: | the leaves rustic but it was not to be done